Tag: Mike Hughes

Three reasons the Vikings should draft a cornerback in the first round

The Vikings corner situation requires the team to try and take one in the first round. Here’s why.

With two first-round picks, Minnesota has some options in this year’s NFL Draft.

I think with everything the team has in terms of possible choices, the Vikings should not trade up and just try to find value at cornerback with one of the two first picks. I would be fine with the team trading back, though, if it thinks that’s how it can add value.

Here are three reasons why I think the Vikings should go that route, assuming a bunch of corners aren’t taken before pick No. 22, which would be a bit surprising.

The team could use a starter at that position

Photo: David Berding/USA TODAY Sports

Minnesota still has Mike Hughes and Holton Hill, who are both good enough to be starters. However, with those two not consistently being on the field in 2019, it would be wise for the Vikings to make sure they have another player who could start out wide.

Minnesota could find a player like that, even with a late pick in the first round.

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Bleacher Report lists cornerback as Vikings’ biggest red flag

Among all the position groups that are a problem for Minnesota, Bleacher Report thinks cornerback is the biggest.

For the Minnesota Vikings, there is a lot to choose from when it comes to red flags for next season.

From the offensive line to the defensive line, there are players who were key contributors during 2019-20, who will likely no longer be with the team next season. But Bleacher Report thinks the biggest red flag for the Vikings is at cornerback.

Bleacher Report mentioned the loss of Xavier Rhodes, who reportedly signed with the Colts, and Trae Waynes, who reportedly signed with the Bengals, in free agency. The outlet also said this:

“Minnesota’s starting cornerbacks right now are Mike Hughes and Nate Meadors. That’s not going to get Minnesota past Green Bay in the NFC North—much less past Drew Brees and the Saints or Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers in the NFC.”

Rhodes isn’t totally a big loss, but Waynes will be hard to replace. Hopefully the team can draft solid cornerbacks, in addition to Hughes, Meadors and Holton Hill playing well and staying on the field in 2020-21.

Three Vikings reserves who might be starters next season

From defensive linemen to defensive backs, here are some Vikings players who might have to become starters in 2020-21.

The Vikings have lost a lot of talent this offseason, which means players from 2019-20 who didn’t play as much might have to step into bigger roles.

Everson Griffen reportedly announced on Instagram he was leaving. Both starting corners from last season reportedly signed elsewhere. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs was also reportedly traded to the Bills.

Sure the team has 12 draft picks and the rest of free agency to try and fill those holes, but some of the starters who left could be replaced by backups if those backups are good enough.

Here are some of the reserves who might be receiving more playing time next season:

Defensive end Ifeadi Odenigbo

Photo: Kelley L Cox/USA TODAY Sports

With Griffen reportedly leaving, filling a void at defensive end becomes crucial. Danielle Hunter is coming off a season in which he had 14.5 sacks, much thanks to Griffen, who kept opposing offensive lines from honing in on Hunter.

Griffen had eight sacks, and the team also reportedly loses Stephen Weatherly, who had three. That’s a lot of production to replace. Maybe the Vikings go to the draft to find an edge rusher, but Odenigbo might be able to step up into a bigger role.

Either way, Odenigbo will receive more playing time now that Weatherly is gone, and the Vikings might just find out that he’s ready to start.

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Vikings CB Mike Hughes will need to step up in 2020 

Hughes’ career has been up and down with multiple injuries already taking place.

NFL fans have entered that weird time of the year where football news revolves around mock drafts, coaching changes, free agency and maybe even the XFL. The Vikings head into the offseason after a blowout loss in the divisional round, and an interesting road up ahead. 

The 2020 offseason is going to be an interesting one for the Vikings. The term cap casualty would be an understatement when looking at the Vikings roster, as they sit over $11 million over the salary cap. 

That ranks dead last in the NFL in terms of cap space, and that isn’t the only problem this team has. They have numerous big decisions to make when it comes to free agency, something that isn’t going to be easy not having the money to re-sign some of their veteran players. 

Re-signing Anthony Harris should be towards the top of the list when it comes to offseason priorities, but there will need to be some moving pieces. 

Other than Harris, the Vikings have four more free agents in their secondary alone. Trae Waynes, Andrew Sendejo, Mackensie Alexander and Jayron Kearse are the others set to hit free agency come March 18. 

Not only do the Vikings have five meaningful players in their secondary set to hit free agency, but Xavier Rhodes has drastically regressed since 2017, making him a cap casualty candidate. 

With all of this being said, it’s never easy to speculate which direction the team will go in 2020. They could find a way to free up cap space and sign a couple of these players or they could look to the draft to try and replace them. 

That is why the 2018 first-round pick Mike Hughes is going to have to make a name for himself in the 2020 season. Hughes got off to a fast start in his first career game, picking off Jimmy Garoppolo for a pick six. 

Since then, Hughes’ career has been up and down with multiple injuries already taking place. He suffered a torn ACL that sidelined him for the majority of his rookie campaign and a broken vertebra in his neck that kept him out of the playoffs in 2020.

When he is healthy, it’s clear the Mike Zimmer and the rest of the Vikings coaching staff have faith in Hughes. That was shown in 2019 when they kept him matched him up with Amari Cooper in Dallas, even after he went for 11 catches, 147 yards and a touchdown. 

In his first two seasons, Hughes has played in 20 of 34 games including playoffs, totalling 67 tackles, two interceptions and one touchdown. 

Hughes has shown that he can play physical in the run game but has been up and down while in coverage. A huge part of this could be due to the fact that he hasn’t fully had the time to catch up to the NFL pace with the severity of his injuries thus far in his career. 

If the Vikings are going to find success in 2020, Hughes is going to have to play a big role in Zimmer’s defense. With the subpar play at the cornerback position in 2019, and over half of their starters in the secondary being free agents, the Vikings are going to have to utilize Hughes more come this fall.

PFF says Vikings’ biggest offseason need is at CB

In no surprise, the Vikings’ biggest need was at the cornerback position, where the team struggled big time in 2019.

With the offseason here for all but two teams in the NFL, the folks over at Pro Football Focus put together the top offseason need for each team.

In no surprise, the Vikings’ biggest need was at the cornerback position, where the team struggled big time in 2019.

Here’s what PFF wrote about the Vikings and the cornerback position:

The cornerback position undid a lot of that good, however, with how porous it was throughout the season. Xavier Rhodes is a prime candidate to be released after allowing 84% of the passes into his coverage to be completed. No cornerback on the team finished with a coverage grade above 65.0. Fixing that will be the top priority.

There’s a pretty good chance that the only familiar face playing regular snaps for the Vikings at cornerback in 2020 will be Mike Hughes. Mackensie Alexander and Trae Waynes are both free agents, while Rhodes is likely to be a cap casualty.

This will, and should, be a huge focus point for Vikings GM Rick Spielman this offseason.

Vikings’ free-agency watch: Cornerbacks

Are Xavier Rhodes’ days as a Viking over?

Under contract:

The Vikings have seven cornerbacks under contract for next season, but three of them are only signed to future contracts — Mark Fields, Kemon Hall and Marcus Sayles.

The polarizing Xavier Rhodes (more on him in a bit) is under contract for $10.5 million. Cornerback Mike Hughes, who should be back for training camp next season after suffering a neck injury, is in the third year of his rookie contract. Holton Hill and Kris Boyd are under contract for a combine $1.2 million

Free agents:

Starting cornerback Trae Waynes will be a free agent after a somewhat disappointing stretch in Minnesota after being drafted in the first round of the 2015 draft. The team’s best nickelback, Mackensie Alexander will also be a free agent and it seems unlikely either will be back.

While this seems like bad news, the cornerback group underperformed in 2019 and probably had its worst season under coach Mike Zimmer. A group of new faces might not be the worst thing, which brings us to . . .

Potential Cap Casualties:

It seems nearly certain that Rhodes will be on his way out. The one-time lockdown corner is no longer that. In fact, other teams targeted Rhodes nearly every game. Rhodes is due $10.5 million in 2019 and has a $12.9 million cap hit. If the Vikings cut him, they’d save $7.1 million, which seems like a no-brainer for GM Rick Spielman. We could see a restructured deal, too, but it might be best for the team just to move on from Rhodes.

Report: Vikings CB Mike Hughes suffered broken neck vertebra

It will be another offseason of rehab for Hughes.

We now know why Vikings cornerback Mike Hughes was placed on the injured reserve ahead of the wild card round of the playoffs.

Per the Star Tribune, Hughes suffered a broken neck vertebra.

The start of Hughes’ career has been rough as far as health is concerned. His rookie season was cut short by an ACL tear, and now he’ll have to rehab during another offseason to ensure that he’ll be ready for the 2020 season.

Hughes could be a huge part of the team’s plans defensively next season. Xavier Rhodes could be a cap casualty, while Trae Waynes’ contract expires.

In two seasons, Hughes has appeared in 20 games and started five.

In 2019, Hughes had a Pro Football Focus grade of 58.7, a mark that ranked 78th among 119 ranked cornerbacks.

Emmanuel Sanders has been solid for 49ers since being traded

Sanders’ catch percentage in San Francisco was 67.9 percent, which was a career-high.

One player to watch as the Vikings and 49ers battle the Divisional Round of the playoffs is 49ers wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.

Sanders was traded to the 49ers via the Broncos earlier this season for a future third and fourth-round pick.

That has paid off.

Since being traded, Sanders has caught 36 passes for 502 yards and three touchdowns in 10 games. While those numbers might not be crazy, he’s added a dimension to the 49ers’ offense that they didn’t have.

Sanders’ catch percentage in San Francisco was 67.9 percent, which was a career-high.

While Sanders played a lot of slot receiver in the past, he’s been used all over in the 49ers’ offense. The Vikings will be down cornerbacks Mike Hughes (neck) and Mackensie Alexander (knee).

I would expect Kyle Shanahan to try to exploit that as much as he can on Saturday.

Eric Kendricks suits up for wild-card round on Saints vs. Vikings inactive report

The New Orleans Saints injury report preemptively ruled out Eli Apple and Zach Line for their wild-card round game vs. the Minnesota Vikings

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The New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings published their official inactive lists before Sunday’s wild-card round game, and it doesn’t carry many surprises. Several players were preemptively ruled out on Friday’s injury report while managing various issues — that group includes starting Saints cornerback Eli Apple and fullback Zach Line, as well as Vikings nickel cornerback Mackensie Alexander.

New Orleans was without both Apple and Line a week ago, and their fill-in replacements played well. Veteran cornerback Janoris Jenkins closed out the regular season with a timely interception, while former Saints practice squad call-up Ricky Ortiz threw some key blocks and caught a pass or two in Line’s absence.

It’s less clear how Minnesota will adapt, because neither Alexander nor his backup (slot specialist and punt returner Mike Hughes, who is on injured reserve) will play. While both of the Vikings’ starting cornerbacks are active, they could have to press a safety into slot coverage or rush returns specialist Marcus Sherels into the role. Considering Sherels only played a combined 74 defensive snaps from 2014 to 2018, it’s unlikely the Vikings take that option.

One path they could consider is shifting linebacker Eric Kendricks into the slot when the matchup works favorably — such as when the Saints position a tight end or running back into the alignment. Kendricks is widely considered to be one of the NFL’s best coverage linebackers, though he was slowed down with a quadriceps injury in recent practices. He’s also been picked on by Alvin Kamara in the past. But Minnesota might not have better choices.

With all that said: here are your official inactive reports from both the Saints and Vikings:

From the Saints

  • CB Eli Apple (ankle injury)
  • FB Zach Line (knee injury)
  • OL Will Clapp
  • OL Ethan Greenidge
  • LB Manti Te’o
  • DE Noah Spence
  • DB D.J. Swearinger

From the Vikings

  • CB Mackensie Alexander (knee injury)
  • WR Laquon Treadwell
  • DL Hercules Mata’afa
  • DL Eddie Yarbrough
  • OL Dru Samia
  • OL Oli Udoh
  • OL Aviante Collins

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LB Eric Kendricks not on injury report ahead of Vikings and Saints game

Kendricks injured his quad in Week 16 against the Packers.

The Vikings will not have cornerbacks Mackensie Alexander (knee) or Mike Hughes (neck) on Sunday against the Saints.

That’s the bad news.

The good news, however, is that All-Pro linebacker Eric Kendricks (quad) is not on the injury report after being limited in practice earlier this week. Kendricks injured that quad in Week 16 against the Packers.

While Kendricks might not be 100 percent, the Vikings will need him, along with pretty much everyone else on the team, to play at their best if they want to pull off the upset.